Michiko had enjoyed her day off with Akio much more than she should have while on a 30-year deadline but what was done was done. She didn't have anymore time to invest in her relationship meters while trying to speedrun the level. She could indulge in her guilty pleasures once she had cleared this world. Perhaps things would be different with Akio in another world. She rather missed her seven cats, big yard and calm civilian life. Calm by her standards, that was.

With a fairly good mood and a few whimsical thoughts flowing through her brain, Michiko walked into her research lab and picked off where she'd started. She was almost done with a new counter seal for Gaara. His mind was too delicate to meddle with too much but that also meant that the seals already in place were causing serious damage. She had quite a few mind protection seals she'd been developing. She had to learn from scratch because there simply weren't many in existence. They were incredibly headache inducing to make, relatively easy to crack and why bother when suicide seals were cheap, easy and foolproof?

Having so many time and resources to explore mind seals was really breaking new ground. MIchiko couldn't wait to have a chat with Jiraiya. He was such a sweetheart when he wasn't trying to grope her or coerce her into entertaining his fetishes.

Being the creator, she already had a firm grasp of the foundations of the seal and the modifications had only taken three days. Today was operating day. She just needed to check over the seal, run a few simulations with her calculator and she'd be done.

She started up the calculator. It loaded for a few seconds before glitching out. No problem, it happened sometimes. Computers here just weren't as shock-resistant or reliable and chakra sometimes interfered with the magnetism. She tried to load it up again but it refused to start. Frowning, Michiko pushed the start button a few more times and changed the battery tank but it didn't do anything.

Little Teacup, being the newest and most even-tempered, was chosen to be the sacrificial lamb once again as he appeared by the doorway. "What's wrong?"

Michiko shrugged. "I have no idea. It wouldn't start." Behind her, Ryosei was growing uneasy. Not a real surprise. If they thought it was necessary to send Teacup down, they probably thought she was going to blow up soon.

Teacup stayed silent as Michiko poked at the computer. Pressing the restart button did nothing, changing the battery tank again did nothing and she couldn't think of a reason why it wouldn't work.

She kneeled down to check the battery again before closing it back up. She'd just have to send it to Takumi for repair. Luckily, he was in town and would be able to arrange something quickly for her.

Sighing, she patted her calculator affectionately a few times only to find that the plate next to the battery wasn't completely smooth. She felt it again and confirmed that the surface was damaged. Behind her, Ryosei was getting a little fidgety. Instantly suspicious, Michiko placed her hand above the dented surface and passed her chakra through it gently. It unlocked and Michiko removed the metal sheet. The smell of damp air hit her and some of the wires had clearly been tampered with. If Suna was behind it, then it was a serious breach of trust. This calculator was as much a weapon as her Grenade Seals and to open it up and look inside was seriously damaging to relations. It raised questions as to whether Suna had been trying to steal Konoha's sealing work and Konoha was very iffy about that after the annihilation of Uzushiogakure.

"Someone forcibly opened up my calculator and dumped a bunch of water in it." Michiko announced making sure to appear as calm as possible. Internally, she was cursing up and down, calculating exactly how many months this could set her back

"Sunagakure will conduct a thorough investigation." Teacup promised.

Michiko nodded in acknowledgement, her eyes still peeled on her calculator. Should she still go through with the operation? The seals were more or less complete but what if the calculator had been tampered with when she'd used it. Now she couldn't trust Suna security but putting up barrier would emit too much chakra and interfere with magnetism. Maybe just a detection barrier? If she made it wide enough, then maybe the chakra won't interfere too much. She'd have to get everyone to steer clear of the barrier and the implementation would take awhile. It would take three days to get word back to Konoha, two or three weeks to build a new calculator and a week and a half to slowly ship it to Konoha and that was if there weren't any sandstorms. She would lose at least a month. Two months with complications.

If Ryosei was behind this, Michiko was going to end his career. Depending on how much trouble he caused, she'd either have his arms cut off or she'd just make him wash the Puppet Brigade's toilets for the rest of his life.

"I hope that your investigation teams are sufficient. Today's operation is cancelled. I need to run through all the calculations again to make sure there are no discrepancies. I'll go pen a letter to the Hokage and order a new calculator before coming back. Shouldn't take too long."

"You're going yourself?" Teacup questioned.

"Akio hasn't met Takumi yet." Michiko turned to Ryosei. "What are you going to do?"

"I'll go help Katashi-sama."

Michiko didn't want Ryosei near her lab but she had no proof. At least this way he'd be with Katashi instead of her lab. Since an A-class security breach had just happened, nothing in the room could be moved anyway and a team of ANBU would be guarding the site.

Michiko nodded stiffly. "Then I'll take my leave."

Akio followed Michiko as she wrote a report for the Hokage before casually walking out of the research lab and heading to Takumi's Suna vacation home, her face that very picture of serene if not for its stone cold nature. She walked up the walls and knocked on Takumi's study window. Takumi opened the window, unsurprised that it was her and concern filled his face.

"What happened to you?" He asked while stepping away from the window and letting her in. Michiko stepped in before looking out and motioning Akio to follow. Akio did so and she shut the window.

"Takumi, this is Akio, my life manager. Akio, this is Takumi, founder of Autumn Artisan and one of my sons." Sons? The guy was twice her age!

Takumi smiled as he reached out to shake Akio's hand. "It's nice to finally meet you."

Akio looked down at the offered hand. "This guy is civilian, right? Doesn't know any jutsu at all?" The guy didn't look fit at all with his flabby arms, smooth hands and big round tummy but you could never really tell with the Akimichi.

"He suffers from a similar condition from me. He never attended the academy."

Akio frowned but at last reached out his own hand and grasped Takumi's, shaking it a few times before letting go.

Takumi didn't take any offence to Akio's reluctance, unlike most civilians. Probably because he was from a ninja family. "You've done a good job with Michi."

Akio's face twisted in bewilderment. "'Michi'?"

Takumi smiled. "We've known each other for a while."

Akio turned to Michiko. "Do you have a pet name for him too?"

Michiko looked both amused and annoyed. "No."

"So what's the problem?" asked Takumi.

"Some twat disgraced the species by deciding that dumping water into my calculator was a good idea."

Surprisingly, Takumi's smile widened. "If that's the case, then it's perfect. You see, I actually had my team develop a brand new calculator after hearing of your long project to make up for not getting you a birthday and christmas present. They're in the second half of testing phase right now but if you want, I can have them skip it and bring it over in a week."

Michiko blinked. And blinked again. And then she let out a high-pitched squeal and tackled Takumi to the ground, her arms barely reaching around his midriff.

"Oh my god, Takumi! Have I told you how much I love you before?"

Takumi laughed and returned the hug. "Many times."

After a few more seconds of smothering the life out of Takumi, Michiko straightened herself, ignoring Akio's stare. "What are the upgrades on the calculator?"

"We've reduced the size by 15% and increased durability. It should be able to withstand a 15 cm drop. We've changed the interface a little so it gets less cluttered and quintupled memory capacity and increased calculation speed by 275%. The downside is that it takes three times as much electricity and it was developed with the mindset that you'd be in Konoha in your own lab with an electrical outlet so it's a plug-in. Instead of starting over from scratch, I had them build a portable electrical outlet that's battery-powered for the calculator to plug into. It's a parallel circuit with three paths for currents, each with ten batteries. You won't have to work around the battery's life anymore. The cooling system is a little bit better as well but I still won't advise working it too hard."

Akio had no idea what any of that meant but Michiko seemed ecstatic. "I love you so much."

Takumi grinned. "Good bribery never fails to work with you. I got you some new books too. Not exactly sure what they are but they're from Uzushiogakure."

Michiko looked like she was about to swoon from sheer ecstasy. She hugged Akio instead and squeezed him with all her strength. While getting swung around wasn't really painful for Akio, it definitely would've killed Takumi. After she calmed down somewhat, she put him down but she still trembled with excitement as Takumi handed her a scroll and she tucked it away in one of her arm storage seals.

"Want to have breakfast?" Takumi asked.

Michiko sighed regretfully. "I took a sick day off yesterday. I have to go in today."

"I can make crepes filled with custard and orange dark chocolate ganache topped with strawberries, cocoa powder, icing sugar and whipped cream."

Akio could tell that Michiko was tempted. "I need to send a report to the Hokage about the incident."

"It's important but it's not urgent, is it? Whether the Hokage receives the report an hour or a day later doesn't really matter."

"I specifically told the ANBU that I would definitely be in today."

"I can cook for the ANBU too."

Akio could tell that the ANBU were sold immediately, even if he couldn't see them. ANBU Captain Crab was a sucker for delicious exotic food and all the leftovers Akio left outside the door were always finished. The ANBU had competitions to kill time while the of them were sleeping and the prize was often the leftovers, at least if Teacup was to be believed. Whenever Akio cooked a special meal, Michiko always had him cook enough for the ANBU to build good relations. The Akimichi had legendary status amongst the culinary world. All the ANBU were sick of 24/7 guard duty and no one passed up an opportunity to have an Akimichi cook for them. It would be sacrilege for a foodie like Crab.

Unsurprisingly, Crab appeared by the window. "I'm sure Kazekage-sama wouldn't begrudge you for taking one more day off. We will need time regardless." Akio supposed that they would have to comb the lab after that security breach to make sure nothing had been tempered with, making it unusable for at least a day or two. Things weren't looking good for Suna so the Kazekage probably wouldn't even mention Michiko taking time to eat a second breakfast.

Michiko gave Crab her 'you're not fooling anyone' look. "I suppose I could spar while you cook. Do any of you want to?"

Crab had far fewer scruples than Katashi and immediately threw the newbie into the lion's den. "Teacup can accompany you."

Michiko giggled. "Well, aren't you a sweet senpai?"

"I believe in tough love."

"But of course, sweetcheeks." Michiko climbed onto the window. "Oh and Akio, call me when the food's ready."

Michiko lept out of the window, leaving Akio behind. Takumi turned to the ANBU.

"Any special toppings you'd like?"

"What's a crepe?"

"It's a paper thin pastry and you can fill it with anything. Have you had a pancake and a burrito?" Crab nodded. "It's sort of like a cross between the two. There's savoury ones with cheese, ham and eggs and sweet ones as well. Are you allergic to anything?"

Crab shook his head. "No. I'll eat whatever the chef recommends."

Takumi smiled. "I love diners that aren't picky." He turned to Akio. "Would you like to help me with the cooking?"

Akio knew how to make crepes but judging by Michiko's reaction to Takumi's offer, his was nowhere near Takumi's league and that just rubbed him the wrong way.

"Okay."

"Good. Then follow me."

Akio followed Takumi into the kitchen and they both set to work with ANBU Crab no doubt watching. Crepes, ganache and custard weren't that hard to make but Akio wasn't very familiar with Michiko's sweeter recipes, having focused on the more nutritional ones. Even then, he preferred traditional cooking and he rarely made desserts. Clearly, he needed to change that.

Takumi was surprisingly quick and deft for an overweight civilian. He dumped ingredients into bowls without measurement and directed Akio in his soft voice.

"Have you worked in a kitchen before?" asked Akio.

"I used to. Before Michi picked me up."

"How old was she?"

"Young. Very young. She tricked me into thinking she was older with genjutsu and henge at first. She thought I wouldn't take her seriously otherwise and she was probably right."

"The two of you are close?"

"I suppose you could say that. We're pretty close friends." Takumi laughed at Akio's sour face. "Don't worry! We're not as close as you two are. I'm not a ninja so there's just some stuff she can't share with me. Besides, I'm twice her age. I think I might have liked her when I thought she was my age but that vanished pretty quickly."

"I know. Michiko-chan isn't like that."

"You know, I'm sure Michi wouldn't mind if you give her a pet name."

Akio scrowled. "What would I call her? 'Michi' sounds weird."

Takumi smiled. God, did he ever stop smiling? "It's fitting. I'm sure you can ditch the honorifics with no trouble. Michi isn't very particular about that sort of thing."

"It's weird."

"I suppose. Still, you did a great job yesterday. I'm sure you were the one who convinced her to rest."

"How would you know that?"

"Who else would it be?"

"I don't know. Itachi?"

Takumi laughed. "I haven't met the young man but if anything I've heard about him is true, he'd never do such a thing. How's he like?"

"A complete and utter ass who thinks he's better than everyone else just because he's 'noble' or some shit. He's stuck in a sewer that he can easily get out of if he just opened his eyes but his head's stuck so far up his ass that he can't even smell the shit flowing around him."

"Not the brightest, I take it?"

"Obviously. And the worst thing is that his skull's so thick that he can't figure anything out despite Michiko-chan and everyone around him smashing his head through the wall repeatedly."

"Common sense isn't as common as one might like to think and it isn't always right. Take Michi as an example."

"Give me an example of when Michiko-chan is wrong."

"Every time she insists she's perfectly fine."

"Well- okay, that's a given. Anything else?"

"Every time she says she's normal and that everyone else is just really bad."

"She's just using her own standards. Which are ridiculous but not wrong or anything."

"Every time she acts like 16 hour shifts are the norm and those who only work for 12 hours are slackers."

"She knows it's not the norm! She just acts like that because… she just acts like that."

Takumi laughed. "I'm just saying that common sense isn't actually common. It changes all the time." Takumi checked the ganache. "It's thick enough now. How's the custard doing?"

Akio stirred the custard. "Should be thick enough."

"Great. I'll plate it while you go get Michi."

Akio nodded and walked out of the kitchen to the front door. He put on his shoes before realising he had no idea which training ground Michiko went to.

"Hey, Crab? Where did Michiko-chan go?"

Crab hung down from the door frame and pointed to his left. "42."

Akio headed straight to where Crab had directed him to. Takumi lived on the edge of the civilian sector which was largely unharmed in the invasion. It didn't take long for Akio to find the training ground.

One look at the training ground and Akio immediately knew not to interfere. The two of them were in close-ranged combat with Michiko's kunai against Teacup's tanto. Michiko had a huge grin plastered over her face as she breathed heavily and her shadows snaked around her arms and legs. Comparatively, Teacup only had a light pant as he tried to strike her again and again, always wary of her shadows and careful not to be manipulated into a tight spot. The training ground was filled with potholes and raised spikes, forcing the fighters to be extra aware of their surroundings lest they lose balance.

After Teacup tried to back away and Michiko threw kunai at him, it was clear that Teacup was the one who wanted to increase distance and Michiko was keeping him locked in close quarters. This was extremely unusual for Michiko which either meant that Teacup's jutsu outstripped her so much that Michiko couldn't afford to go into long-ranged combat or there was some other Michiko reason. She probably wanted to test something or she was limiting herself again.

The fight continued on for five more minutes before Michiko started to lose her grin. She'd get bored soon and Akio decided to intervene.

"Crepes are ready!" Akio shouted. "You guys should really wrap it up!"

Michiko allowed Teacup to jump back. She resealed the kunai and withdrew her shadows.

"That was a good spar." Michiko said.

"You weren't bad." Teacup replied.

Michiko laughed. "Glad you think so, Little Teacup. Let's head back."

Teacup sheathed his tanto and headed back to Takumi's house ahead of them, presumably so he had time to find a nice cosy spot in the shadows to hide in. Michiko and Akio headed back in a more leisurely pace.

"So how was Teacup?"

"Hmm… Better than I expected."

"As in?"

"They're cute and fluffy but in the end, wild kittens are mini tigers who like to pounce and hunt. He was really sweet in trying to hold back. I really didn't think through this spar thoroughly enough."

"... Okay?"

Michiko laughed. "Nevermind. So did you learn anything?"

"Little stuff. You don't talk to Akimichi a lot, do you?"

"Not really. We're both very busy and we've got our own lives."

"He mentioned that he liked you."

Michiko snorted. "For all of two hours before I revealed my age. I think that shocked him enough to swear off kunoichi."

"I suppose you're weird like that. You know, just your age and the way you act."

"I'm sure there are far weirder 13-year-olds out there. Itachi will be in pieces by then."

Akio scrowled. "The bastard's fucked but that's always been a given. I mean people like you who are completely insane. Not a fucking robot."

"Hmm… I'm sure Hatake Kakashi would've been a good candidate when he was my age. And every single child ANBU ever. I'm not that bad in comparison." Akio stared at Michiko skeptically. Michiko rolled her eyes. "No, really, Akio. I'm not that bad."

"You hear that deafening siren pulsing right next to your eardrums? Yeah, that was my bullshit detector going off. You look fine… for a kill happy psychopath but you're more fucked up than Itachi will ever be."

"Maybe, but I'm a functioning kill happy psychopath. That's what counts."

"What's the point if you can't enjoy life?"

"Work hard when you're young and then you can retire well when you're older."

"Never took you for conventional wisdom."

"Blindly rejecting everything 'conventional' is just as dumb as blindly following it."

"Yeah but when are you going to retire? It's not like you have a lot of time. As a ninja, I mean."

"Maybe I'll tell you someday."

"Oh."

The two of them ran in silence back to Takumi's home. Michiko tracked sand into the house and got mud on the dining chair but Takumi didn't seem to care. The table was laid out already and all the ANBU bar Teacup were seated.

"Little Teacup isn't joining us?" asked Michiko.

"No."

"Oh." Takumi said. "Would anyone like the extra crepe then?"

"Little Teacup's just shy." Michiko said. "He doesn't like to eat with us but he's up here somewhere. He'll be having the crepe."

"I see."

The six of them ate fairly quickly with Crab grilling Takumi for cooking tricks and recipes. Teacup's plate disappeared and reappeared empty sometime during the meal. Mole was mostly silent and Planarian piped in once in awhile, their masks pushed up just enough to shovel food into their mouths. As their meal drew to a close, Akio could see Michiko's eyes drooping a little. She always avoided eating heavy meals because she got sleepy but she'd now had two breakfasts in a row and she was still running a fever.

"Do you want to head home, Michiko-chan?"

Michiko scrowled.

"It'll be fine. You've just got some new books and you can't use your calculator. You can just stay home where it's nice and cosy while you read up. You'll be less stressed and you can always work in the dining room."

Michiko still didn't look pleased but there was nothing much she could do. All her advanced equipment was in the lab and nothing could be moved while an investigation was going on. The most she could do was reading and coming up with ideas.

Michiko turned to the ANBU. "Do you think the Kazekage will object to me working from home?"

Planarian shrugged. "Where else would you work?"

"I was thinking of setting up a temporary new lab."

Planarian frowned. "Remember how much trouble we had setting things up the first time round? I think it's more effort than it's worth. I do not want Konoha sending Suna under reparations bill. It shouldn't take more than a few days."

Michiko was back in her foul mood, but it wasn't murderous like before. "Very well. I shall work from home for the next few days. I suppose the break will serve you well."

Planarian gave a dry smile. "It's always vested interest, Nara-san. It's always vested interest."

"Then I suppose we should head back now." Michiko gave Takumi a smile. "I'd hug you again but I'm a little dirty."

Takumi smiled back. "No worries, Michi. My Suna home could use some sealing work."

Michiko beamed. "Of course, sweetie. Anything for you."

The two of them shared a laugh for some reason before Michiko slowly stood up. "I'll be leaving now, Takumi. Thanks for the breakfast."

"Anytime, Michi."

The rest of the ANBU also got to their feet with Mole and Planarian vanishing into the shadows. Crab extended his hand towards Takumi to the surprise of everyone.

"It was a pleasure meeting you." Crab said.

Recovering from his shock, Takumi shook Crab's hand. "Thank you. It's always a pleasure to meet a fellow food enthusiast. Feel free to drop by."

Crab laughed and gestured towards his mask. "That'll be difficult." Crab couldn't very well reveal his identity to Takumi and while Akio didn't know much about ANBU rules, he was sure that using your mask just to learn new recipes probably wasn't looked upon favourably.

"Oh sorry. I didn't think that one through. Well then, if you can convince Michi to come over for a lunch break, I'll cook a nice meal for everyone. Provided that I'm free, of course."

Michiko groaned and Akio grinned. The ANBU now had incentive to get Michiko to take a break. They may yet be recruitable allies in Akio's quest.

After a few more goodbyes, they headed back to the apartment. Akio ushered Michiko into the shower and he bathed her. This time with a little less embarrassment and no fainting. Michiko was curled in bed feeling nice, comfy and totally at peace as she flipped through a book when the doorbell rang. Akio peeked out and to his surprise-

"Nii-san!"

"Ayano? What are you doing here?"

"Gai-sensei got called away on a long mission so I thought I'd come and surprise you two? Can I come in?"

Akio let Ayano in… and immediately took a step back. His little sister had grown a little in the past few months but the most stark differences were cosmetic. Her hair was cut short to her cheekbones, she wore a green bandana (but not a spandex, thank god) and she'd gotten a lot tanner. Her grin twinkled a little and she'd gained some muscle.

"You look… different."

Ayano beamed. "That's cause I am. You look great too and you're chuunin now!"

"Yeah, but nothing's really changed."

"That's good! So how's Michiko-shishou?"

"Same as always. She's reading in the bedroom now. Fuuinjutsu and stuff."

"Oh. And how's Uchiha-san?"

"He turned out to be a greater asshole than I'd thought. He's complete bullshit."

Ayano frowned. "Oh. Okay. Can I talk to Michiko-shishou?"

"Sure."

Akio walked to the bedroom with Ayano tailing behind and opened the door. "Michiko-chan, Ayano wants to talk to you."

Michiko looked up and put down her book. "Ayano. Please, come on in. Can you stay outside, Akio?"

"Why?"

Michiko smiled. "Nothing too important."

Akio frowned but left the room.

The door closed and Ayano turned to Michiko.

"So what happened with Uchiha-san?"

"He did the unforgivable."

"Oh… you said something about wanting him to train me."

"... I'm not too sure about that now."

"Why not?"

"He's not the most mentally stable."

"He's never been."

"He's a hopeless case."

"... You've given up on him."

"Yes."

Ayano studied Michiko face for a few seconds before beaming. "Don't worry! My bullshit detector is a hundred times better than nii-san's!"

Michiko frowned and hesitated for a while before replying.

"Do as you will.